Determination of Thrombogenicity of Materials Under Flow for Improved Device Design

Medical devices are burdened with complications of thrombosis and hemorrhage. The combined interaction of material surface, local hemodynamics (in particular shear rate), and large-scale thrombosis is poorly understood.

First, basic science studies will attempt to deduce the relative importance of material surface and shear rate for large-scale bulk thrombus formation in an in vitro setup. Next, a model will be built from those results to predict thrombus surface coverage, growth rate, and time to occlusion. Finally, a selection of current blood-contacting devices will be modified based on these results. My goal is to demonstrate reduction in thrombogenicity in an in vitro simulation.

This approach may provide quantitative predictions of clinical thrombogenicity to allow for future systematic design of medical devices to avoid thrombogenic material and flow combinations, as well as improve risk and outcomes for current devices.